ROGERSVILLE – The North Greene Huskies got their shot at Cherokee again on their home floor, but came up short again and finished runner up in the Big H BBQ Christmas Bash with a 61-51 loss on Saturday night.
The Huskies led by as many as nine points at times in the first half, but they let a bad second quarter effect them and it proved to be costly. North Greene scored 18, 15, and 13 in the first, third, and fourth quarters. But a bad five-point second quarter turned its nine-point lead to into a deficit by halftime. North Greene wasn’t able to keep up with Cherokee’s pace in the backstretch and suffered another defeat.
“I think the second quarter really got us beat. We had five points in the whole second quarter. We started out pretty hot and they made some adjustments and we didn’t respond too well,” Huskies Head Coach Matt Weems explained.
North Greene was led by three scorers with 14 points each. Isaac Gaby, Tyler Britton, and Thomas Darnell all ended with the same amount and were all named to the all-tournament team.
Landon Jeffers led Cherokee with a game-high 17 points. Gavin Lawson provided 11 and Isaiah Jones had 10 and took home Tournament MVP honors.
Jones started his 10-point night with a layup and got the game started. Lawson sank a mid-range next to lead 4-0 early. The Huskies caught fire and went on a 16-3 run next. Gaby began with a three-pointer and Darnell’s soft floater allowed them to take the lead and run with it. Darnell would then score six-straight on three-straight layup attempts and held a 13-7 lead. Britton’s first three-point bomb had them ahead 16-7. The Chiefs would close the gap to six by the end of the period as North Greene led 18-12 after one.
The lead grew back to nine with Britton’s three to open the quarter, but Cherokee finished the quarter on a 14-2 run to hold a 26-23 lead at the break.
Both teams came out of their respective locker rooms and shot lights out in the third. Landon Jeffers made a three that gave Cherokee a 9-point lead before Tyler Britton and Isaac Gaby made one each in response to cut the deficit to five. Elijah Carmack and Gaby traded next. Both teams combined for six threes in the quarter. The Huskies trailed 41-38 going into the fourth.
They struggled to score in the early going of the fourth and didn’t get a shot to fall until about halfway through. Down 45-38 Darnell made a 10-foot shot in the paint to end their dry spell. Jeffers made a huge three with 3:49 left and made it 48-40, but they weren’t done yet. Gaby cut it to five with a three and Jaiden Bailey’s corner three later cut it to three.
A huge turning point came after Bailey’s three. Cherokee called a timeout and out of the timeout Darnell stole the inbounds pass and laid it up, but the ball rimmed out. Cherokee corralled the rebound and were sent to the charity stripe after a foul. Both foul shots went through.
North Greene couldn’t catch up after that and ended up losing 61-51.
“They’re a very good basketball team. They’re going to be a tough out later on in the year,” Weems stated.
The Huskies are off for the rest of the month until returning back to action at home hosting Chuckey-Doak on Friday, January 2nd.
North Greene finished this week with a 2nd-place finish in the Big H BBQ Christmas Bash after losing to the hosting Cherokee Chiefs 61-51. Listen in to hear what Head Coach Matt Weems had on his mind after the game. pic.twitter.com/9c1Nl2NxhU
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) December 21, 2025
